The Weather Report: Week of July 14–18
A half-million-signature petition to remove non-Europeans just reached the European Parliament. It's the one clear case of real coordination in an otherwise ordinary week of old narratives finding new news to attach to.
Read the essay →The World Cup Didn't Start These Fights
Hate used it to spread. The counter-narrative used it to organize. This round the volume went to the counter-narratives.
The 2026 World Cup was hosted across three countries: one already at war with itself over immigration and race (USA), another gripped by deadly populist polarization and routine political violence (Mexico), and a third whose polite facade is dissolving into American-style culture wars (Canada). Over the tournament, one event after another was co-opted into extremist and hateful narratives and counter-narratives. Here's what we found.
Read the essay →Online Hate Is a Product Problem Now
Traffic is the product. Hate is inventory. Everyone pays.
Online hate is a product. It runs on grievance, attention, money, and power, and it works. In 2026 we finally got the number: platforms know what it would cost to fix, and the cost is small. They just aren't paying it.
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